Flights canceled for aircraft inspections

Wednesday

FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines canceled about 200 flights on Wednesday so that its crews can inspect some wire bundles aboard its MD-80 aircraft.

None of American’s flights to or from Pittsburgh International Airport were canceled through 6 p.m. and three later flights were expected to be on time, according to the Web site flightstats.com.

American is the seventh-busiest airline in Pittsburgh, with 13 flights a day to Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago’s O’Hare International, Miami and New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.

The canceled flights represent less than 10 percent of the nation’s biggest airline’s scheduled service for the day.

The need for the new inspections became known during an audit of American by a joint team of inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Fort Worth-based airline, according to a statement from American.

“We are reinspecting the MD-80s to make sure the wiring is installed and secured exactly according to the directive,” American spokesman Tim Wagner said in the statement, which did not describe the function of the wiring.

“We are in the process of completing the inspections on the remaining airplanes and will return them to service on a rolling basis throughout the day,” Wagner said.

About 50 departures each were canceled at American’s hubs at Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare international airports.

Shares of American’s parent AMR Corp. fell $1.02, or 10.6 percent, to close at $8.61 Wednesday, approaching the lower end of their 52-week range of $8.38 to $34.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.